The Cisco 2500 series of routers are a series of 19" rack mount access routers typically used to connect Ethernet

Ethernet

Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....

 or token ring networks via ISDN or leased serial connections (ie. Frame Relay

Frame relay

Frame Relay is a standardized wide area network technology that specifies the physical and logical link layers of digital telecommunications channels using a packet switching methodology...

, T1

Digital Signal 1

Digital signal 1 is a T-carrier signaling scheme devised by Bell Labs. DS1 is a widely used standard in telecommunications in North America and Japan to transmit voice and data between devices. E1 is used in place of T1 outside North America, Japan, and South Korea...

 etc). The routers are based on a Motorola 68EC030 CISC processor. This line of routers is no longer sold or supported by Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...

.

Models available

Fixed Configuration Routers
Model	Ethernet AUI	Token Ring	Serial (Sync)	ISDN BRI	Serial (Async)	Hub	Notes
2501	1 10Mbit/s	-	2	-	-	-	Multiprotocol Router
2502	-	1	2	-	-	-	Multiprotocol Router
2503	1 10Mbit/s	-	2	1	-	-	Multiprotocol Router
2504	-	1	2	1	-	-	Multiprotocol Router
2505	-	-	2	-	-	8 10Mbit/s	Router/hub
2507	-	-	2	-	-	16 10Mbit/s	Router/hub
2509	1 10Mbit/s	-	2	-	8	-	Router/access server
2510	-	1	2	-	8	-	Router/access server
2511	1 10Mbit/s	-	2	-	16	-	Router/access server
2512	-	1	2	-	16	-	Router/access server
2513	1 10Mbit/s	1	2	-	-	-	Dual LAN/multiprotocol router
2514	2 10Mbit/s	-	2	-	-	-	Dual LAN/multiprotocol router
2515	-	2	2	-	-	-	Dual LAN/multiprotocol router
2516	1 10Mbit/s	-	2	1	-	14 10Mbit/s	Router/hub
2520	1 10Mbit/s	-	2	1	2 Low-speed	-	Multiport serial routers
2521	-	1	2	1	2 Low-speed	-	Multiport serial routers
2522	1 10Mbit/s	-	2	1	8 Low-speed	-	Multiport serial routers
2523	-	1	2	1	8 Low-speed	-	Multiport serial routers

Semi-Modular Routers
Model	Ethernet AUI	Token Ring	Serial (sync)	ISDN BRI	Hub Module	Notes
2517	-	1	2	1	11 available after connection with router	Router/Token Ring Hub
2518	1 10Mbit/s	-	2	1	23 available after connection with router	Router/Ethernet Hub
2519	-	1	2	1	23 available after connection with router Two distinct rings available	Router/Token Ring Hub

Modular Routers
Model	Ethernet	Token Ring	Available WAN modules	Notes
2524	1 AUI or RJ-45	-	2-wire switched 56kbit/s DSU/CSU 4-wire 56/64kbit/s DSU/CSU Fractional T1/t1 DSU/CSU 5-in-one Serial (Sync) ISDN BRI (optional NT1) ISDN BRI with integrated NT1	3 WAN interface module slots: •2 Serial (Sync) •1 ISDN
2525	-	1 STP(DB-9) or UTP(RJ-45)	2-wire switched 56kbit/s DSU/CSU 4-wire 56/64kbit/s DSU/CSU Fractional T1/t1 DSU/CSU 5-in-one Serial (Sync) ISDN BRI (optional NT1) ISDN BRI with integrated NT1	3 WAN interface module slots: •2 Serial (Sync) •1 ISDN

CiscoPro Routers

These routers were offered at a reduced price due to their reduced software feature set. They are characterized by a light grey/cream colored case compared to the standard dark grey colouring

RAM/FLASH

The maximum ram able to be taken is 16MB.
The maximum flash memory is 16MB. A boot ROM

Read-only memory

Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...

 upgrade may be needed to use 16MB of flash.

The 2500 series uses 72pin FPM simms with parity

Software

uClinux

UClinux

μClinux stands for "MicroController Linux," and is pronounced "you-see-Linux" as explained on the website, not the way the Greek letter mu is normally pronounced. It was a fork of the Linux kernel for microcontrollers without a memory management unit...

 is a free software project that runs on the Cisco 2500. Originally when these units were manufactured, only the proprietary Cisco IOS

Cisco IOS

Cisco IOS is the software used on the vast majority of Cisco Systems routers and current Cisco network switches...

 software was available.

History

The Cisco 2500 series was introduced in 1993 and reached end-of-sale in 2001
. They were superseded by the Cisco 2600 series.

External links

• Evaluation in "Green-IT environments vs. Cisco

• http://ciscomemory.net/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=7_21&zenid=db4887924916eb94e2ad37155ab0e0c9 Identifier